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Ours is not a tragedy; tragedy has some ingredients of chivalry and integrity. Ours is a farce directed by us on us; a cheap drama aimed for prurient, sensory gratification, blithely forgetful of a sense of history and destiny. Willfully employing cynical manipulation of facts, devoid of central moral core, devoid of the organic nature of cause, we ended up becoming masters of self-sabotage and self-deception.

In the summer of 2001, public unrest and vocal opposition to the rule of Isaias Afwerki reached at its peak. The private papers opened their forum to the public for the first time in post-independence Eritrea. It was a brief renaissance. In September 18, 2001, (just 7 days after 9/11), while the world’s eyes were fixed on New York, Eritrea’s tyrant made his move. He closed the papers, jailed political dissidents and activists. After that, the constitution was never mentioned. Eritrea’s leader announced indefinite period of conscription for everybody above the age of 18. All calls and petitions from international human rights organizations fell on deaf ears.September 18, thus, marked the turning point in Eritrean contemporary history– for the worse.For those of us who want to be on the right side of history, who chose to struggle on the side of justice, that day tells us how long the struggle has been; how hard it is..and how important it is. “Arc of history is long but it bends towards justice,” said M.L. King.

Remembering Amanuel Asrat and private press

“I fear the newspapers more than a hundred thousand bayonets,” Bonaparte said.In my feeble attempt at activism, I have participated in letter-writing in (with the) local Amnesty International chapter. We write letters to political prisoners and their families. It is a cathartic and meaningful exercise. I tell myselfwithout discounting the courage of the prisoners and activists, at least these are visited by Red Cross and their whereabouts are known. Then I remember my friends, like Amanuel Asrat. What about when no one knows of those who are incarcerated?

Amanuel Asrat was one of the finest poets of our generation. He was the chief editor of Zemen newspaper where I worked at. I had the honor of knowing him and his family. He was a gentle, intelligent soul and a creative force. He, along with other journalists, was made to disappear in Era-iro gulags in September 2001.

Amanuel means “God is with us.” I don’t know about that. But I believe so. I want to believe so. I am sure Amanuel, the person, is not with us. Asrat, his last name, means “tithing”– the one-tenth contribution given to Higher Being. Is Amanuel, the person, a tithe given to Higher Cause, to Justice, to Eritrea, to Liberty? I don’t know. I deeply hope he will survive. I deeply hope his suffering and the suffering of others is not without honor, without future.

The dour, sad facts are unrelenting, uncompromising. Today, Eritrea suffers, among other myriad ailments, from a total news blackout. Only government media is allowed to operate under strict monitoring and supervision. More than 90% of the exiled journalists worked in government media or, rather, couldn’t work in government media. In the past 12 years, the only way Eritreans could learn about what is going inside the country is to sneak into the slow and heavily monitored internet cafés and read what is written about their nation from foreign-based media. How many persecutions, wrong policy decisions, disappearances, corruptions, happened but were never known to the public? In the one-party, no elected body, no constitution regime; in a land where absolute dictatorship reigned, I will leave it up to your imagination, (if we can imagine it) the multitudes of transgressions and the sheer weight of the sufferings that remain untold, unheralded, unaddressed because there is no free journalist to report and no free press to publish the stories.

For me, the worst part of PFDJ is its nasty habit of imprisoning citizens and disappearing them without trace. That extra-cruelty, when a less invasive action could sufficiently do the job, is something that I will never, ever, never understand. If I were ever to ask Isaias Afwerki a question, I would ask him simply ‘why?’ Why jail people and make them disappear for simply being at the wrong time or place, for just believing in what you told them to believe–for example, the Eritrean constitution? (It’s not like the Bretton-Woods, SAP; after all ‘it is made by PFDJ.’ ) The Private Papers case of 2001 could have been handled by just revoking their license. The journalists would report back to their ‘ahadu’, their units. All of them were in the national service. What would be the worst that could happen? Leave the nation? There are more journalists in exile than in Ella-Iro. What did we do? Practically, we joined the ranks and file of Eritrean refugees, with occasional commemoration to palliate the guilt. But jailing and disappearing 10 of them only exposed the cruelty, the irrationality of the regime, bringing unending pain and trauma for their families. Yosief Ghebrehiwet (YG) had expertly put this extra-mile act of cruelty as the hallmark of PFDJ. What about the G-15? People who made history with the leader as close friends for 35 years? Do they deserve to rot and die in hell? Why not release them in their twilight years for old-times-sake? If you are afraid that they will leave the nation and start opposition in Diaspora, do that by all means: read Mesfin Hagos, Ali Abdu, Adhanom G. Mariam, Abdella Adem, Paulos Tesfagiorgis, Haile Menkorios…etc.

I digressed.

Xibukat ZenaB’l, Kolkeyna..!

I hate jails and disappearances. I hate jails. If childhood trauma has correlation or even causality, allow me to tell you what happened to my family in 1980s. I never mentioned it before.In mid 80s, I was ten years old and my mother was put in jail. My mother, at that time a mother of 6 (including an infant of 18 months old who was taken with her), was snatched from home, Edagahamus neighborhood of Asmara and was taken first to Gibbi and then to Hazhaz. It was found out that she was a member of a cell that was collecting and sending money to the Eritrean People’s Liberation Front (EPLF.) One arrest led to another; then my mother. Suddenly, we were motherless. It was bleak times. I remember relatives tending to us; my father (may he rest in peace) tirelessly juggling roles. The most distinct memory I retain is him dressing us in ‘Saryans’, wearing ‘nay chipolini koyo’ looking presentable in the presence of Dergue officials, like Tefera Wendie, in the hope of evoking their sympathies and releasing our mother. That was the first time I have ever been to the infamous ‘Teklay Gizat’, later the seat of the current Eritrean leader. I wonder: do families dress their kids to plead with the Eritrean leaders? What would it be? I think ‘Saryan’ is out; so are the fancier suit, with fancier shoes. What kind of shoes? These days, sneakers are quite common; kids now in weddings, dress up well, contrasted well with their bored and somebody-please-get-me-outta-this look. They also wear a tie; white-shirt, black bow ties, or rather, are put on them. Maybe we should send money for families with incarcerated loved ones to buy these clothes, or send them these outfits en masse; suits, sneakers, and clip-on bow-tie, necktie. Should we form an organization, a civic group to collect clothing? I suggest Europe could be ideal center for this campaign.

Did Tefera Wendie notice us? Did anyone who has a seat in that building from Martini to Isayas ever notice Eritreans pleading?

When my mother was sentenced to some years jail time, which she didn’t finish, she was transferred to Hazhaz, women’s prison center. It was close to home and I usually passed by, to check if I can spot her somewhere from the backyard, either from Adi Sihel side or from the hospital side. We were allowed to see her every Thursday; and we never missed it. Usually we cried; she cried most. We consoled each other; we prayed. Once while waiting to see her, I couldn’t help my temptation to follow a little bird, that deceptively appeared unable to fly, but gave me a run for my money. The bird eclipsed towards the huge ‘Meqabr Aslam’, and I followed it all the way towards ‘Mehrem Chira.’ That day, I returned in vain without catching the bird; nor seeing my mother. My mother always recounts that story, “Yizekeka d’o…?” I still feel embarrassed by the story. Maybe that day, more than seeing my mother, I wanted the bird to sing ‘every little thing is gonna be alright.’

Everything turned out all right. My mother was released; the family was reunited. We were and still are one of the luckiest in every sense, as Eritreans go. Whenever I hear stories of arrests without cause, separation of families, I think back to what happened in the mid 80s and shudder. I just hate it.

Eritrea currently boasts more than 300 detention centers. Sometimes villas, residences are rearranged to be jails and torture rooms. We all have friends who are never heard from. We all have friends who were arrested for flimsy reasons and spent years in detention camps. We have veterans who left Asmara in the 1970s and 1980s who came back as prisoners to Asmara after independence. Most of them are, we are told, incarcerated in Karsheli, 2nd Police Station. When I heard this story, I cried…And we, as youngsters, have drunk, laughed, partied in the vicinities of Karsheli, in Aba-Shawel without knowing, or ‘caring’ who is wailing there. Think of that; there are veteran fighters who left to ‘Medda’ to liberate Eritrea but came back in chains without even knowing Eritrea was liberated.

Have you heard of such a tragedy, such atrocity?

There’s not enough rain in Oklahoma
To wash the sins out of that house
There’s not enough wind in Oklahoma

To rip the nails out of the past…

Don’t you feel singing this tune, with Carrie Underwood? One day, I hope to see, with my own eyes, the closing down, the blowing it away, the ‘honoring’ of the Eritrean detention centers to museums. That is my heart-felt yearning.

Eritreans have deep and long history with incarceration of their loved ones. From the Nakura/Asem days, (‘Atum seb Aseme/atfaenakum gize m’s teleme/ delnakuk gizie mis haseme’ lamented Dej. Bahta Hagos, in a dirge) till now, many have perished after being taken by the powers to be.

I met a former schoolmate once. He told me he was incarcerated in Aderser, another gulag, past Sawa, near the Sudanese border. He almost lost his eyesight because the underground detention center is pitch-dark. Many others did lose their eyesight. In their own nation, they were made deliberately blind so they can’t see what independence brought forth. Another who was posted there told me of colonels of ‘Miktital Dobat’,(border patrol) simply wasting the lives of poor Eritrean internees, shooting them point-blank, simply because the girl failed to sleep with one of them; the other was being lazy. A ‘merah mesree’ (squad leader) was shot in his knee because he was slow to ‘punish’ the internee. It reminds one of Amon Goeth, the Nazi Commandant, shooting the camp prisoners from his balcony for entertainment. Ralph Fiennes depicted the Nazi rascal in the movie, Shindler’s List.

Ask anyone about detention centers in Eritrea. You will be horrified. We forget to ask; we don’t know. We don’t want to know. We will never know. But we must know; we must ask; we must remember because for now that is one of the things we can do. Narration of our stories are the beginning of our healing. We have to hear them, tell them, tend to them.

More than 10,000 of them, Amnesty International reported. I have once asked a person who worked in Beleza, Central Command Office of the Eritrean Defence Forces.’ He told me of files of people, ‘sugmti zetewesedelom’, (“steps taken against”): those who perished in jail, and those who are in jail. He said there were tens of thousands, kindey emo kinblom, uncountable. He left Eritrea in mid 2000s almost 8 years ago. Since then, how many added? This person gave up on Eritrea. He said he didn’t want to think about Eritrea anymore. He said he didn’t care if it existed or lost, as far as he was concerned, it didn’t exist; only his families matter to him. Another loss, the lucky ones who lacked conviction and hope in Eritrea, dropping out on us, on the cause. The number of people dropping out is staggering. They say “I don’t care about it. I don’t care what happens to it.I don’t.”

In the face of such reckless barbarity, we may appear powerless. Let us see what we can do; light a candle; contemplate; pray for them (if you are a believer); console family members; pay a tribute; commemorate them on screens, forums, t-shirts. Write their story. Tell their story. In this regard, I would like to thank our compatriots at EYSC-NA and EYSNS for producing a calendar that commemorates the G-11 and Bitweded (in Arabic, English and Tigrigna) and let us show our cooperation by promoting and buying the calendars.

Let us go back to the basic of all basics: Human Rights

Please allow me to make the following observation. So far, we have failed to do justice or right by our heroes, by our history. Taking honest appraisal of our shifting and unfocused exercise, of the mangled panorama drafted and redrafted in the past ten years, that we call struggle against PFDJ tyranny is timely for their sakes, for our sakes. Ours is not a tragedy; tragedy has some ingredients of chivalry and integrity. Ours is a farce directed by us on us; a cheap drama aimed for prurient, sensory gratification, blithely forgetful of a sense of history and destiny. Willfully employing cynical manipulation of facts, devoid of its central moral core, devoid of the organic nature of cause, we ended up becoming masters of self-sabotage and self-deception.

Please, let us go back to the basics: let us trace back what brought us here. Our cause first and foremost is the cause of human rights. It is predicated on the simple assertion that we deserve to live as free citizens in our endeared nation, Eritrea. It is a deeply moral cause that puts the well-being of individuals (Eritrean citizens) at the center.

If anything, September 18 should remind us to revisit and amend our ways: let us consciously try to put the incarcerated and suffering Eritreans back in the center.

Telling stories of the unjustly incarcerated helps us recalibrate our message because they remind us of our fate and the grim realities of our citizens and the courage of the folks in those stories.

Let me end up with this brief excerpt from the Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers.

Sam: “..Those were the stories that stayed with you. That meant something, even if you were too small to understand why. But I think, Mr. Frodo, I do understand. I know now. Folk in those stories had lots of chances of turning back, only they didn’t. They kept going. Because they were holding on to something.Frodo: What are we holding onto, Sam?Sam: That there’s some good in this world, Mr. Frodo… and it’s worth fighting for.

Is Eritrea worth fighting for? September 18 resoundingly testifies that the journalists, G-15, elders held on to that belief. The question is: “Do we believe Eritrea is worth fighting for?” I hope we solemnly agree it is worth fighting for and that the lives of thousands of Eritreans meant something for each of us. The lives and possibly deaths of 10, 000 of Eritreans. More than 10, 000 of them.

Haile will be making the case as to why the Eritrean regime is (should be) going down and Nitricc will be making the case as to why he is a supporter of the Eritrean government.

We have chosen the songs we will play as they enter the ring; Haile will be playing “Goodbye To You” (by Scandal) and Nitricc will be playing “Back in the Chain Gang” (The Pretenders.) We think the songs represent the two: Haile, reluctantly, with a heavy heart saying goodbye to EPLF now PFDJ; Nitricc, accepting the hard-life prescription for Eritrea as necessary and imposed by “circumstance beyond our control.” Of course, the two combatants can choose their theme songs and we will comply.

The bout will be in the comments section… Haile has already started Round 1. If you are following this on your iphone or ipad, scroll all the way down to see the “Jebena/Merhaba Open Thread” icon.

Good luck to both. And remember, the posting guidelines are still in effect.

For AT
saay

haile

Nice one AT!

It is brilliant idea – we called ras-b-ras 🙂 I hope Kokhob Selam wouldn’t mind the small and quite village of Jebena turning into a busy and bustling stampede of awatistas coming to see major knock out blows to make sure Nitricc doesn’t leave town in one piece 🙂

Nice song, will let you know if my blood pressure raises and I need something like wedi Tikul’s “Yekealo” on the way… 🙂

Kokhob Selam

Hailat,
in fact I was lonly for so long and I was always waiting to see my valage shining. you are both well come.

you are both Eritreans and we in the village will take care of both stands. “eneho Feres enho Meda”.

Nitricc

SAAY
I know you are for Haile and good thinking to take the fight from public view. I know you don’t want your favorite Haile bloody nose for everyone to see : ) slick move Sal : )
No worries Haile will be a falling tree in the forest. : ) over the Jebena lol
Haile I would like to set rules of engement and also I would like to know who the judge is.
Who would like to be the judge, give me a name.

Nitricc

Hold on Haile.

Selamat Beyan, I tried to replay to your outrageous outrage while I was completely submerged in managing my games and I did not explain my self as I wish to do.
So, let me clear it up for you, sir.
So, you don’t know what loose woman is and so much so you wanted me to explain to you. Really? Once I read some where when President Clinton was cornered and asked for clarification of what “is” “is” means. You sounded to me a full grown man and I have no doubt you know exactly what I am talking about, you just thought there was opportunities to attack me in grudge driven ravage style over what I have said about your job-less friend. If you were honest and courageous man, you could have challenged me and took me to tasks about my comments back then. I understand, you can’t defend what I have said about your friend because everything I have said was true and you know it, regardless, you could have danced around it like you did when I asked you if you share his toxic, poisonous and satanic views. For you to carry this grudge for that long in fact, it proves my point that Eritrea’s major businesses, be it implementing the constitution, election what have you, should be postponed. With people like you, everything is about grudges, revenges, secrecy and nothing good can come out of it.
Again I challenge you to point it out what the exact point is ever I dehumanized and degraded woman. Have a respect for the awate.com readers; let them be a judge of it.
How is it you worried to no end by a comments of one dumb person who is no body at that, yet, you are supportive, best friend and admirer for a person who dehumanizes, degrades and despises everything Eritrean, everything, including the martyrs, how?
Do you remember when I asked if you share your friend’s views and you never answered it, I was too respectful to give it to you like that but, let me tell you the truth; you could never be best friends with someone with out sharing a similar view, never. You can be family but never friends. So, please save it to your job-less friend your hypocritical tears that you care about Eritrea so much so you are outraged by my comment. Take it the way you want it, I am the future working extremely hard to mean something to my people and country. Not that I am special, I just have burning desire for my life to have a purpose. I am in it with the purpose that is guided by good intention, absolute principle and clear objective to serve, protect and defend my people and country. So, if you think your little childish, grudge driven game is going to break me down, and then you don’t know me. As far as your plea for awate-team to ban me, well, you may have an absolute say in asmarino.com and we know what the reason is but in awate.com they make their own decisions. Besides, it shows your hypocrisy again; in one hand you are for democracy and free expression and on the other hand you calling out for people to banned. Again there no way I can explain between good woman and the loose once but I point you who can, ask your friend YG. It would be a good topic for him to write 55 pages and for you to enjoy reading it. As you always do enjoy and agree with what ever he writes.
Beyan, the old ways doing things as you are accustomed to are dead and over with and you have choices to make and it is yours to make. The wind of change is coming, absolutely, make no mistake about it and you have a choice to make, you can hide and bury between walls of grudges, revenges and disgrace or you can come with us join and help building the windmill that will harness and provide us with clean power, a power of reconciliation, a power development, a power of honesty, a power serenity a power of prosperity and a power new start. You have a choice and the choice you make is your right but you have neither choice nor the right poison and intoxicate the mind of the young.
One more time, show me where I degraded woman. I am waiting respectfully for your answer. I am counting on you to show some gumption.
As always with respect,
Nitricc.

You seem you have learned new vocabulary from Awate forum. You have said “… clean power, a power of reconciliation, a power development, a power of honesty, a power serenity a power of prosperity and a power new start.” Is this new posture that came out from the recent meeting held at Emba-tkala by DIA? Or is this your new consciousness on your side? There hasn’t been a talk about reconciliation, democracy, justice, rule of law from the political foot soldiers of Issayas or Issayas himself. Can you give us more elaboration as to how you come to echo such lofty political ideals from one who defend the man who destroyed the fabric of our society?

Nitricc

Hi Aman.
Do you know what Job said, the creater of Apple?
He said,
“Once you learn the people who runs this world are not smarter than you Then there is no much to figure out.”
So, yes they are mine and I will take matters on my hands to make them reality.
I will explain a little further.
I did not know PIA is holding a conference. I will check it out.
I will check it out..

haile

Selam Aman,

Did you notice that there was ‘reportedly’ resolutions adopted. But shabait forgot to tell us what were those 🙂

I thought it was a kind of leak from their house, when Nitric start to speak out “our political language” unheard anytime before, such as reconciliation, rule of law…etc. But again Nitric himself couldn’t acknowledge the occurrence of the meeting.

Araya

It is hilarious to read an argument about the meaning of loose woman. I don’t know what is going in Beyn’s head but a loose woman is just that loose. Some women are loose naturally, some need a little alcohol and most women are reserved, cultured and just nice women. I don’t get what Beyn is talking about. Currently I am assigned for two semesters in a community college and talk about loose woman, I am not complaining :). Byane come over to this community college and see for yourself what loose woman means. I don’t know why you seem to take it personally though. Bayn,If you had a score to settle with nitric, you should have waited for the right moment. On this one, it is obvious you have been unreasonable for asking what loose woman means.

haile

Nitricc
All that glitter is not gold!

– It is great to have a government that is oriented to develop a self-reliant society. Eritrea doesn’t have one, as you would hopefully open your eyes today!

– It is great to have a government that would be prepared to slow political progress in exchange to achieving tangible and marked progress in reforming and developing the country. Eritrea doesn’t have one.

– Every Eritrean worth his/her salt is happy for anything of value/worth that happens in Eritrea. When it comes to thanking someone for it, please give credit where credit is due (based on that someone’s role). In the case of the regime in Eritrea, its role has been of wanton criminality that requires it to stand trial and not be a party in the process worthy of any Eritrean’s gratitude

– All Eritreans who oppose the regime are not opposition. In order to be an opposition, one needs to be member of a formed opposition group. Many are activists and others are just silent spectators who are aware of the follies of the regime but do nothing.

– It is mindlessly horrific to think that many fathers and mothers who perished in the seas and deserts to escape the regime, yet never heard of Xbox, are callously referred to by you as xbox seekers.

Analysis:

The regime in Eritrea is far from self-reliant economically, politically or socially. Eritrea today is one of the most heavily indebted countries that has been allowed for some debt cancellation and other relief packages. It has borrowed from the world bank, the Export bank of China, African and European development funds, bilateral and NGO sources to the tune of billions of dollars for projects and public works that were used to abuse the youth beyond imagination, to the point of the latter leaving the country at great perils. The good news is that despite the regime’s scandalous attempt to hide this fact under the ruse of “national security”, every penny that it borrowed, every borrower application that it submitted, every mid-term and closing appraisals conducted by third parties on its borrowing is in a public domain and open for everyone to see.

Talking of who to thank for public sector development and reconstruction works that have been conducted over the last couple of decades, you need to first identify the who the candidates are that need to be considered for this merit. Before that however, we need to know what the work was and how it was done. A simple entry point would be, say, to take one such project and analyse it. Let’s take, for example, the project undertaken to rehabilitation and expansion of the Massawa and Assab ports. In 1997 the world bank approved a $30.3 million loan to rehabilitate the ports of Massawa and Assab. The project was estimated to cost $57.6 million and the Italian government supplied $21 million towards the project. The remaining $6.3 was agreed to be offset by the Eritrean regime*. The objective of the project, for which the loan agreement was signed on on the 18th day of the month of November 1997, was declared to be that “(a) address the urgent port capacity requirement; (b) optimize the use of existing facilities by rehabilitating and upgrading the two ports of Massawa and Assab; and (c) increase substantially the productivity and capacity of the two ports to international standards.”

Based on mid-term progress report completed on meeting the objectives, it was reported that “The project is moving towards achieving its objectives: Most of the original project activities have been successfully completed.” **

Now bear in mind that IA has as recently as a couple weeks ago came an told us “The ports can’t meet local domestic demands leave alone regional and international demand” in his very own words, it is a case of either he is telling falsehood now or the above declaration made during the mid-term review is false. Because both are mutually exclusive, it can’t be said developed and undeveloped at the same time. Which one is it?

The above is however a minor issue as compared to the more sinister nature of things as you dig further. The regime had limited contracting works (all of the civil work side of the project) to be undertaken internally owing to its alleged policy of “boosting local employment!” When you look at the final financial information completed after the closing of the project in 2008, the big chunk of the money was written out to “Civil works”. However, the work was completed (whatever was said to be completed) by members of the national service at meager wages of 600ERN per month. The youth were normally separated from their families, endured hard labour, sustained injuries and many fled the country some falling pray tragedies on seas and deserts. It is a simple arithmetic to check if the figures reconcile by comparing the money drawn from the loan for “civil works” and the actual payments made to those national service recruits who were made to engage on those aspects of the project. I tell you that most of the money was siphoned off and I challenge you to obtain this information from the ministry of public works in Eritrea without being liquidated for allegations of “national security threat”.

The same can be put to evaluation as regards the $100 million dollar earmarked for human resource development and the health sector by the World Bank and other bilateral loans. The same about the funds borrowed to demobilize an allegedly “200,000 members of the forces who needed $330 per person re-re-integration sum as well as psychological support and consultancy”! It was siphoned off, and show us your resolve to get information without being liquidated.

Currently people are talking about water shortages in Asmara. Let me break it to you Nitricc that old pipelines and the likes aren’t the problem. In order to provide a running water in household taps, the water undergoes processing, the state doesn’t have the hard currency to purchase the materials and chemicals needed to do so and hence the regime has resorted to filling up spring water and moving it around the city in trucks. It is a scandal that many YPFDJ youth had serious illness during their 2012 Sawa visit because they were given contaminated water for drinking. Some had to be rushed out of the country for treatment. The regime had borrowed millions of dollars in the past to to upgrade the water distribution system in Asmara. The same for guaranteeing electricity supply and so forth. But, all that has disappeared without trace!

The regime has used development project, forced labour, corrupt army top brass and gullible diaspora to emasculate, impoverish and destroy Eritreans and Eritrean spirit. No one supports it in Eritrea out of honest appreciation of what it does. It is a criminal entity.

Here is my question to you Nitricc: I would like to thank somebody for the project undertaken to rehabilitate the ports for example, Who should I thank:

i. The youth who were made to work on them with callous disregard of their human worth

ii. The Eritrean people who now have a debt to service for as long as it takes to pay off in full

iii. The World bank and other bilateral partners who were willing to offer the bulk of the money

iv. The Eritrean regime that is refusing to account its books and claims there is no port worth speaking. The regime is also responsible for horrific crimes against the desperate youth (Whom you referred to as xbox seekers) to use them in its wanton destruction the nation’s future.

Who should I thank Nitricc?

Your lack of appreciation that the regime of IA is really fighting for its survival is also common to many who judge things based on manufactured propaganda. Nonetheless, I will elaborate this aspect separately; least I wouldn’t wish to over bear you with a separate topic here. But rest assured, things have long taken a dangerous turn.

Haile,
I’m glad you got my message. After all that is what matters. The eagles are out of the cage.

Papillon

Thank you Ghezae, Aman, Haile and Asmerom. It sure is great to find myself once again in this warm adobe of ours. Again, thank you.

Hayat Adem

You are an added warmth and light in the house, Papillon. You could see no body else has been welcomed back as much so far. God sent two messengers to see if Noah made it and survived the floods. First, it was the crow. He didn’t come back with needed report. And then he sent the dove. The dove found the crow feeding on dead animals from the flood and didn’t care to take back the news to his sender. The dove got back with the good news and an a green grass in her mouth for evidence that the flood drained away. I feel a taste of that with your coming, Papillon. You are the dove here,the bearer of the good news. The crows usually don’t get back. And if they did, the don’t bring you good news but the same recycled and overused stuff. I will mention Asmera as one example of the crows. You list down the rest of them…
Haftikhi, Hayat.

Papillon

Dearest Hayat,

We could as well be mere characters on the screen but we have transcended or crossed over if you will the realm of abstraction and feel our presence in flesh and blood with intensity as if we all have known each other from Adam. Sure enough the hall-mark of Awate is not only the ever magnetic and gravitating intellectual stimulation that streams on daily bases but the vibrant engagement of the editors in practically every discourse we may immerse ourselves in as well. And one find it incredibly irresistible and hard to cut oneself of it ad infinitum.

Your clarity on issues marinated with impressive command of the language is breathtaking to say the least. Imagine a post-tyrant Eritrea with your gracious presence. Not only that the caged literary world will be free of dread of shackles, but once again Eritrea will pride herself not only of her vanguards of constitutionalism, civil liberty, rule of law and accountability, but for cultivating bright souls like you among others. And many thanks for those kind words haftey natey.

Zegeremo

Hey!!!!! Happy to see you, welcome back!!
Hmmm..what were we arguing about? 🙂

Regards

Yodita

Dearest Papillon,

Great to see you are well and back to knock some sense of it all. Awesome!!!

Haftcki

Papillon

Dearest Yodita haftey,

Many thanks for those kind words. And great to find myself once again in your warm company.

Nitricc

Gezae, you said
"You know where I am going this. We are talking about temporal matters; worse third world politics; worse Eritrean government that has no elected body, no constitution, no functioning parliament, no free press, no elections so far and possibly in the ……….."
You are absolutely right and I agree with everything you have said above. That is the precise reason I support the government of Eritrea and PIA.
And You said
"The only unconditional support we can ever give to or allege to give to is God or family members."
Gezae, if you have a child ready to get marry and start life, what kind of woman will you get to your son?
Will you get him a woman who is clean, virgin, free of any chemical dependency, fit, athletic, healthy or will you hook him up with a woman who is drug addict, fat, who being with multiple men, lazy and dump.
This the exact case with the government of Eritrea in general and PIA particular.
They could have implemented the fake constitution and shred it all the way from Asmara to Qarura; they could have called for fake election and rigged it to the bone all the way from Asmara to Mereb. They could have established fake free press and control it to the its core. They could have done all those things and they did not, they could have done all those things in process looked good and lived comfortably; just like any other miserable African country but the Eritrean government feel responsible parents of that son i mentioned who deserves a clean start, a good life, good woman and perfect marriage.
As I am sure you will do the same thing for your son. So what is the problem if the government of Eritrea and the president did the same what Gezae will do for his son?
This is the exact reason why I am exited and loaded to claim my responsibility and my generational duty. the new generation will be handed on, virgin constitution, unmolested, untouched the real deal. I am excited the new generation will have virgin election, clean, unrigged, the real deal. I am excited the new generation will exercise to establish free press; real free uncontaminated by any external entities. So, Gezae, the government of Eritrea is doing what you would do to your son, remember the unconditional thing you will do for your child. If anything appreciate their selfless act. They are leaving it to the new generation and that is the right thing to do. We will take care of it and all children of Eritrea equally will enjoy the fruits of all miseries all Eritreans endured. I promise you that. I could have say more on this issue but I have to replay Haile,s inquiry so, you may want to read then. Haile, I will answer you about my responsibility the one you have asked me. I will write you so, you can read it before I gave you a bloody nose 🙂

The one thing I will wash my hand and be out is if the government abandoned the little guy, the average person, the kid in the border the poor mother in a dark hut. And build sky scerepers in Asmara. then I am out. So far I admire why did in economic justice. So far every resource is distribute fairly to the disappointment of the “Asmarino” Every Eritrean has bled for this nation and every one should be treated equally and fairly.

Haile tomorrow is Sunday and it will be a good day to hit the church. You know a little confetion before you know 🙂

Horizon

You have been raping Eritrea repeatedly, day and night, from the very day she was created, and yet you are talking of virgin Eritrea with a virgin constitution, democracy etc. Who do you think would believe this utter bs. Eritrea and Eritreans are unfortunate to be ruled by people like this person (a PFDJist). Rapists of their own daughter cannot speak of virginity and immaculateness. In a world where there is a shred of humanity, people like DIA are put in prison to rot, so that their foot soldiers would not have the audacity tο poke a knife into the people’s wound, by telling such a tasteless joke like virginity of ideas.
A poorly functioning constitution and democracy is a lot better than a non-existing one, because one can improve on these. When there is none of the sort, then there is nothing to improve, and no life, a good example Eritrea under PFDJ. You cannot provide your people even with the lame democracy some African countries have, and yet you are trying to insult the intelligence of the Eritrean people by saying that your regime would provide them with pure and virgin constitution, democracy etc. These miserable African countries you mentioned have given a better life to their people compared to your virgin and immaculate Eritrea PFDJ says would create.
Your regime is raping the people and the land, and its people are forced to run away in all direction to save themselves, and yet you are telling them to wait until you create your virgin world in Eritrea. This way of perception belongs to the sphere of radical political and religious extremism, callousness and disorientation. What is the use of giving a perfect constitution and democracy to dead people and a dead country, because this is what is going to happen until your virgin constitution and democracy is born.
The young are leaving the country in droves thus leaving a little chance for a next generation, and yet you are talking of the next generation that would be handed over the torch of virgin and unmolested Eritrea. You should first try to make sure that there will be a next generation, because what you are doing to your people leaves no chance for a next generation.
Let us all pray to God not to make us the type of father DIA is to the people of Eritrea! He is the type of person who does not want to understand that that fat, ugly, and repeatedly raped by PFDJs woman (Eritrea), is his own daughter and of his own creation and making.

beyan neegash

Horizon, bless you for injecting some sense into this Niticc character. He is indeed a character. Just because some Awatawyan engaged him in petty matters, he is taking himself way too seriously and his convolutedly illogical, badly chosen analogy, insensitive to the core with his blatant and demeaning approach to women, which can only be characterized medieval in its reasoning,is an indication that our collective voice should be emphatic in rejecting such assertions; if for nobody else for the minority of women who grace this website with their presence, this is way too offensive and demeans us as humans collectively when we stay mum.

You know Horizon several weeks ago Haile posted something horrendously written purporting it to be that of Asmara. And an Eritrean woman who was, rightly, incensed about it dared for Asmara to explain, and I was waiting confirmation or refutation from Asmara, but Asmara cleverly dodged the question and began to attack the person who questioned him for without any evidence. That’s the kind of a problem one runs into when people use so many aliases, they can always get out of the kitchen when things get hot and ugly and we would never know who the real culprit might have been.

And if you read what that other character wrote you would be nauseated to a point of wanting to vomit on your computer screen. The piece was ugly, perverted, and unbecoming of an Eritreans that we always assume have some sense between their ears to write sensible things, but gathering from the current regime misleading the country, it wouldn’t surprise me if that character wasn’t one who has done these things to breathing and living Eritrean women somewhere in Eritrean dungeons.

Now, as if that was not enough, here comes Nitricc with his bravado acting like he is on some sort of steroids attempting to reason with something totally unreasonable analogy. I appreciate your concise response, particularly the following:

“Your regime is raping the people and the land, and its people are forced to run away in all direction to save themselves, and yet you are telling them to wait until you create your virgin world in Eritrea. This way of perception belongs to the sphere of radical political and religious extremism, callousness and disorientation. What is the use of giving a perfect constitution and democracy to dead people and a dead country, because this is what is going to happen until your virgin constitution and democracy is born.”

When I read Nitricc’s response to Gezae (one has to give it undue qualifications to even call it a response, he was just spewing rubbish) I was thinking of those young Somalians who left the U.S. to join the Al-Shabab in the name I don’t know what? But one thing is for sure: that these were gullible kids indoctrinated to join a cult of sorts.

This Nitricc guy and those of his ilk I am beginning to worry about placing themselves in similar predicaments as those poor Somalian Americans who learned their lessons the hard way. Some I gather have since returned, but then I have no way of guessing Nitricc’s predicament other than on what he writes and what he has been writing worries me to no end.

Nitricc

Selamat Beyan.
There is something that comes with age, wisdom and I question your wisdom sir. You supposed teach when some one is ignorant, correct if someone is wrong and lead with respect and civility. Not that you are special but that what age gives you over me.
Now, you must have your personal reason to be offensive about my woman analogy but please don’t give your emotional garbage, none is taken. What is exactly did I say that dehumanizes women? I am challenging you to show to the readers, please.
Now, you can say what ever you want but you can not take my right to express. That is exactly I feel and that is exactly I said.
On my first writing to you I called you hypercritical and today you proved that.
You are shocked by my opinion and it worries you to no end, yet you are happy , giddy and in love with what your best friend YG has to say. Nothing you are supportive and nothing shocked you what your friend has to write?
For your information ask awate-team my stand in woman. It does not make me I am agonist women because Beyan has personal issue with the analogy I have made to make my point. Beyan there are two kind of women, one ethically bound and a good women and there are the loose once. Now what exactly is your problem, sir!
Beyan chill and relax it is just my opinion. Worry nothing about me, work it out with the issues you seem to have.
Regards,
Nitricc

beyan neegash

Nitricc, you said, among other things, the following:

“For your information ask awate-team my stand in woman. It does not make me I am agonist women because Beyan has personal issue with the analogy I have made to make my point. Beyan there are two kind of women, one ethically bound and a good women and there are the loose once. Now what exactly is your problem, sir!”

Simple question for you, Nitricc: Who do you think these supposed “loose women” that you seem to have labeled are loose with? What do you call those who do the “loose” things with your “loose women?” And Would they be characterized as “loose men?”

Regards,
Beyan

Nitricc

Selamat Beyan
Your grudge over me is so obvous you can not even hide it. You see, As I intend to engage Haile, not that I have 0.001pesent what Haile’s caliber has to offer but it is the greatest leaning curve for me. I am simply dump if you wanted to know.
When I write and say something it does not mean I know. To tell you the truth, I know jack. But it does not mean I don’t have an opinion. When I express my opinion please be honest and tell me the truth. Don’t wait months to pay me with your freaking revenge.
Few months a go I told you, you, Beyan, your best friend YG is nothing but a bum which i stand by that remark till i die but it took for Beyan to wait all this time to defend and pay revenge for his friend. The truth is YG is what YG is, a bum a loser. Here I said it, your best friend is a bum and I stand behind my remarks for life. I Know that is your beef with me Beyan but no that is my story and I am sticking with it. Now you wanted me to differentiate between a good woman and the bud once? Well, I could have told you to ask your best friend but never mine. You know what I am talking. Like I have said, I can not help you with your internal issue. Worked it out.
When ask you if you share your friend YG’s idea you danced over the issue but this time around you are fooling around. I suggest you demand awate team for my ban if not I am on. I suggest you talk to the awate team. If not I suggest you stick to your best friend’s web sight, Andinet.com
As always with respect.
Nitricc!

Nitricc

Sorry I was in the middle of my fantasy football game when I responded to Beyan. Please stay tone for my proper replay. Not that I am going to change my point but I was distracted to say what I wanted to say on the right gramer. I say this after I read what I have written and it didn’t made sense.
I am sorry

bukretsion

Nitricc
tell this arabwannabes wannabes like Amanuel hidrat who really they r, we told them they didn’t listen. u r the man talking nitric.

What do you mean by virgin Eritrea are you out of your mind or washed your brain by the DIA for the false promises. Couldn’t you or feel what is happeninig to the eritrean people. Jailed with out and accused with lie,and the young generation of tomorrow rounding them to go Sawa,by the name of national service that with no limited time. Couldn’t you see how many young of tomorrow Eritreans leaving the country. I only can pray tha God the AlMighty will open your eyes and you can see well. Then may be you can dream about tomorrow ERitrea generation of tomorrow Eritreans

Papillon

Dear Haile,

Perhaps the most famous line in “Scarface” is, when Al-Pacino said, “All I have in this world is my balls and my integrity, and I don’t break them for no one.” I am sure you do have them and you don’t break them. Simply because you’re Eritrawi. As for Nitrice, he is a new breed of the dark “Knight”. A “Knight” who has set out to destroy a beacon up on the hill and a jewel in the sea. They destroy and cause mayhem in darkness for they are cowards with an abject sense of apathy.

Haft’kha.

Kokhob Selam

Wow,
long time. welcome back papillon.

Papillon

K’bur hawey Kokhob Selam,

It is great to be back. Thanks.

haile

Selamat Papillon

Great to see ya back! It is also in the nick of time for the ‘great fight’ where Nitricc will be getting a run for his money:) He kindly indicated to us yesterday on the need for us to thank the GoE for alleged good deeds 🙂 and the fallacy of predicting the free falling IA would soon hit the ground. We say gravity would rule, he says PFDJ would.

I suggest you hurry for ring side seats which are selling faster than hamburger 🙂

The AT are preparing a special ring around the fight made of concrete, they anticipate Nitricc would be falling a lot and wish to shorten his chances of getting back up again:-)

If ring side sit is taken up, ask saay he would swap his with you, as he would only be too relieved to see you back 🙂

Regards and welcome back!

Saleh “Gadi” Johar

I am cheering and rooting for Nitric,

I will be cheering Nitric in his fight against anyone who dares to transgress the______ (fill in the blank with anything Nitric believes in) Whatever you do, to whatever extent you gather your energy, you cannot beat him… he is a good fighter, fighting for_________ ((fill in the blank with whatever it is Nitric fights for) Go Nitric, I would gladly count the 1, 2, 3 when Haile, Saay and others sprawl on the ground after your decisive blow–ab meret beT abellom tlkh, tlkh ksab zblu. Go Nitric!

Araya

Selamat Mr. Gadi.
I have read Eritrean history and especially our struggle to our independence and I cannot help but to think nitric is in his own Shadshay werar. Despite the Ethiopian force we know what happen. So, No one is giving nitric a chance. I love underdog. Go nitric.

Ghezae Hagos

Welcome back, dear Papillon. You were dearly missed. I hope you stick around for the long haul. We hate to see you do the disappearing act:)

Welcome back…we missed your insight for sometime. But as you have noted haile is rolling the ball and on his way he is bursting every bubble that comes from the house of PFDJ. With his knowledge of the inside politics of the regime, he is relentlessly and systemically exposing them.
Again welcome back.
regards,
Amanuel Hidrat

Asmerome

Welcome back Papillon we missed u

Kokhob Selam

Nitric,

if Hayet is around bring him back. you remember the old days. you know it is very easy to see who won as the loser will use bad words. today as you can see awate is more stronger than ever so if you lose in the past how can you win today. But as I said don’t run find supporter and challange but please learn and get lessons this time.

Nitricc

Hey what is up with you and Jebena lol
When ever I read your post is about freaking Jebena what is up with that lol
Anyway, your recollection is wrong
No one defeated hayat and me. When we gave the toothless oppositions all they can handle, they complain in masses about me and hayat and SAAY and Gadi decided to Bering the ax and cut us lose. We were banned because the oppositions needed home.
Do you remember when you told me that if I was your son you will hang me and kill me.
I thought about it for a long time what you meant
If you hang me, I am dead but then why do you want to kill me, I am already dead. I was confused for a long time till my friend and Tigrigna instructor told me that what you said was the direct translation from Tigrigna to English.
I guess in Eritrea people say
Hiniq Abile kiqetleka eye
Is a normal expression of disagreement.
Any way I don,t know where Hayat is and I never lost to anyone, tell the truth
I write one post ten of you run to SAAY to complain. That is the truth.
I will do it again, I will take out your favorite Haile for good, write something in Jebena for Haile
Please show your care while he can read it. 🙂 lol

Kokhob Selam

Nitricc,
so, it takes two years for you to understand that what i said was the direct translation from Tigrigna.I may consider it as wrong once from me but 700+days form you.

But why even consentrate in the mistake, why you didn’t ask other questions? I use to say -there is no freedom higher than democracy- do get the meaning?

I miss you Nitricc keep it up. but now unlike those days you are challanging Haile. you Know what I mean. so you must prepare yourself. My advice for you is go back and read when papillon and Haile were discussing. those are the real human beings to be arround. you must be lucky.

Nitricc

Can someone translate for me please?
What is she saying? I get Haile has balls, really, I hope so. What is the point?
Haile, this poor lady come from her Haiding to say to you good bye 🙂
She knew the end of Haile is coiming. OMG!
Once I read she supposed be some kind of biochemist but what kind of bio chemist would misspell
Nitric? She wrote “Nitrice”
Hmmmmmm I am not saying she is not biochemist but she is destrought by Haile’s finall days 🙂
Anyway take it easy lady Nitricc is up to take out Haile. I suggest you get on with it.

Papillon

Nitric,

Looking for faulty lines? We ain’t running a work of art in here. Do you know what fascinate me the most every time I read your blubber? When Isaias is left with people like you, Eritrea is left with the rest of us. Pathetic.

Nitricc

Sure you think you are the cream of the puffs. Just a Q. For you how do you know Haile bit balls? Just asking : )

Hayat Adem

Nitric,
Please, don’t expose your insensitivity zone on sensitive issues of such level.If you are deliberately choosing an abusive language, then you are not communicating to persuade or share. You are spitting those words simply to please your like-minded folks. If that is the purpose of your interactions here in this forum, you could do it better somewhere else than here. But, like you said, if you are trying to supply truth to awatistas, then mind your language. I have never known anyone persuading anyone else by badmouthing. It never happened.
“I pride my self to be the defender of the truth…My greatest problem with you people in the opposition side is the failure of you to acknowledge any positive deeds by the government of Eritrea.” Nitric
And what are those positive deeds you want us to remember them on the day of 18 Sept? What are those positive deeds of PIA you want us to remember side by side with his cruel actions of imprisoning and disappearing citizens? What are those positive deeds PIA exclusively claims to have done for this nation and the ones he imprisoned didn’t have a contribution towards?
Josh Billings says: “As scarce as truth is, the supply has always been in excess of the demand.” You have seen it and you have said it, there is not justification for putting citizens in unknown detention locations for years. These have families and kids. If one of them were a member of your family, how would you feel about it? It could be you, why not? Remember that some of these victims were very close to the President and they were buddy-buddies and family level. If he did it on them, he would do it on anyone. Once, you knew and concluded that, that should be your guiding truth. Do you notice that PIA does not even utter a word about them? He doesn’t even say if the government has investigated them, has found them guilty, has held them xx number of years…NO. If this is not fascistic, then I don’t know what is.
If there were any positive things in the area of development and security you might want to give credit for the man, any below average Eritrean would have done it better than him. His capacity to damage outshines exponentially everything else in him. John McCain says “character is destiny.” That is him and there is no hope he can change that. He can deny it, like as in “I don’t know him [Joshua].” You put a first class art-activist in prison who once was shared a picture-take with you, and you say you don’t know him in the open. What kind of character does that take? Figure it out!
Nitric,
No country has been built by the wisdom or vision of one wo/man however far-cited s/he is. But the ability to destroy can be found in one foolish homo sapien. And that power of destruction gets a lethal life when there are some folks like yourself and others (the unsuspecting or the just determined ones) support him or not ready to oppose him. It would have been easy to uplift Eritrea to a secured and respected state of situation had it not been for the on-going support Isaias is enjoying without merit.

Nitricc

Hayat you are wrong. One person can make a difference. I will replay you in detail but for now The problem with you people , good writers is, that the more you read the more you get an idea to write and the more you get confused.

Gebre

To Mussie and Saay;

Mussie says: “ ——for the rest of your misguided stuff, I will leave for history to judge who is real misguided.
other than that you do the same. Have a nice day (week, month, year, decade)——-“

Well, we do not have to wait for another century to hear the answer who had been misguided. The last century is enough if there is anything to learn from history. My belief is that people are IDIOTIC enough NOT to learn from past human mistakes and avoid mistakes. You find them still uncompromisingly committing the same damn, idiotic, and evil mistakes to only satisfy their ego.

During the German Nazi era, almost the whole population rallied behind Hitler in the name of the belief similar to that of Mussie: “ — .it is ones national/citizenry duty to defend his/her country sovereignty whether you like or dislike your government. “. People were peering out from behind curtained widows to watch while innocent Jews were picked from their homes and streets and railroaded for extinction.

Do you remember, Mussie, you were one of the hot supporters of the thoughtless war started by your president against unprepared brotherly country, Ethiopia. If you had/have problems or other issues concerning the border your govt could have brought that for discussion with the Ethiopian govt in a civilized manner.

In your rally behind the invasion of Ethiopia, you did not leave any stone unturned in warmongering and faming the conflict that consumed over 100 thousand young lives. Here is one of your unscholarly and idiotic and immature comments that you made in connection with the Ethiopian army that was marching towards Badme to liberate it:
“ the herd is moving from its breeding ground to its slaughter house”. You had the audacity of equating Ethiopians with domestic animals. The Nazis also equated the Jews with rats to make it easier to do what they did to them. Mussie , you haven’t learned anything from the horrible mistakes of the past. Definitely, Mussie, history will give its judgment!

The most evil and idiotic thing to do to our OUR people (Eritreans and Ethiopians) is to support dictators for the WRONG CAUSE (REASON) and pit them against each other; and Mussie you have been doing just that since the inception of the conflict. And that is the “ real misguided stuff”.

Lastly, I would like to warn you, Saay, that you might be labeled and dehumanized by the diagnose of “oppositional disorder”.

Nice video! one thing for sure is that it is going to be brutal, still I have a feeling that Nitricc will be the only one to answer back 🙂 watch this about 1min video to get what I mean 🙂 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9WhktJPT5xA

Hahahaha, good one. The great Mohammed Ali was not just a superb boxer but he was a courageous pacifist that stood up against the Vietnam war. I would love the honor to knock some sense into Nitric’s head, bel fas bel kanjar we bel midfae 😉

The article I posted was partially taken from previous unfinished ones. But its bulk can only be credited to our Haile, here. Few weeks ago, he responded in style to ‘Asmara’ (Z’wereda Asmara). It was inspiring. I asked myself what is the main basis of my opposition to PFDJ. It was a comment to Haile starting like this:

“For me, dear Haile, the worst part of PFDJ is its nasty habit of imprisoning citizens and disappearing them without trace. That extra-cruelty, when a less invasive action could sufficiently do the job, is something that I will never, ever, never understand. If I were ever to ask Isaias Afwerki a question, I would ask him simply ‘why?’ Why jail people and make them disappear for simply being at the wrong time or place, for just believing in what you told them to believe–for example, the Eritrean constitution?..” Writing that, I mentioned the arrest of my mother which I never did in public medium. Then I decided may be it could be basis for this piece. So, Haile didn’t know; but he is behind it.

On another note; I mentioned Carrie Underwood’s song. For those, who would like to listen to it, here is the link.

Not so fast brother Gezae. For those who move at snail pace from right to left on the posts, we need a little time before you wrap up the conversation. Seriously though, if I were to be given scholarship money to conduct research on content analysis of various Eritrean websites yours would be one of top five I would delve into because of the nature of your writing that seem to have a knack for an original literature writing that one senses when reading your material. Unfortunately, I have missed far too many of your articles to go back now. There are few others whose writings I would’ve liked to see in printed forms so as to enjoy them at my leisure and not necessarily when they are posted on the website screen.

As I look at the photo you posted I try to imagine which one is you and which one is Amanuel Asrat. But I just couldn’t pass beyond seeing two brothers separated, maybe, a year-to-a-year-and-a-half in between them, the age advance favoring to the one with the mustache. Gathering from the background, the picture seems to suggest a happy occasion, such as wedding. But I look at those smiles where the mustached one seems to be the one who initiated the picture taking moment, for his smile seems to be more on a jovial note whereas the other young man is kind of forcing a smile but the camera man captured the image before he could fully put out a complete smile –a snapshot frozen in space and time.

Notice at those curious eyes looking beyond the camera lens into the soul of the individual who is capturing this moment, as though they are both saying, you better make this memorable and the camera person kindly obliges.

I shudder to think of two young men with promising future ahead of them, but cut short abruptly by the menace that has been wreaking havoc on so many innocent lives; it is just incomprehensible and difficult to fathom.

Respectfully,
Beyan

haile

Selamat Gezae

Thank you for including me with such a product refined penmanship. It is a real honor, but allow me to vacate the stage, humbly, to your friend and co-worker Amanuel Asrat whose memory should be the center of our undivided attention at this juncture. Including, of course, all those disappeared and are going to be disappeared by the regime of IA.

With respect
H

Kokhob Selam

thank you.

Dear All,
thank you for reading my poems.keep reading in Jebena page awate more poems and it is just free to every Eritreans. I will welcome any correction and other fedbacks. don’t forget to mention – Jebena awate page- if you attach any poem any where in cyber world or put in facebook Etc.

Mussie

Saleh, here you go again! you stated ” Conversely, higdefites want to hear something from the opposition: it is wrong for Ethiopia to reneg on the EEBC ruling. When we say it they get genuinely happy” that is the problem with you “opposition” want be.it is ones national/citizenry duty to defend his/her country sovereignty whether you like or dislike your government. but your(“Oppositions”) attitudes are if we are not in power, Eritrean sovereign to hell with it. that is way the Eritrean people despise you and distance from you. Saleh you said ” I will do something Mussie rarely does: give people the benefit of doubt” if I would not give people the benefit of doubt, I would not communicate with you. that is total misread of you about my character.

saay

Mussie:

I told you to wait for Nitricc and you have this bad habit of shooting blanks. Here’s Niticc telling you “I am a die-hard supporter of the government of Eritrea.” I know you think you know everything but you don’t. Chill. Relax. Take a deep breath. Then argue based on facts and not your wishful thinking:

You are one of those misguided people who saves all their ammo for the opposition. The worst you can say about the opposition is that it is incompetent, disorganized. But the worst any objective evaluator can say about the “Eritrean government” (with its relentless campaign of disappear, arrest, exile the people) is that it is criminally incompetent and seems determined to bring down the country. Your “betrey habuni zeHmko aleni” philosophy betrays your character and it’s not very flattering. It’s weak, actually. It’s an insult to those of us who are enduring the cruelty of the government. So snap the hell out whatever trip you are on or pack your crap and move to mesherfet.com which is more interested in fanning flames between opposition elements than it is facing head on the mortal threat posed by the PFDJ to Eritrea.

Until then, Have a nice day (week, month, year, decade)

saay

Mussie

Saleh,

I guess now days you can not address/state your case without becoming to emotional. saleh I was addressing about the response you gave to nitricc specific statement. yes it is true nitric says I am die hard supporter of GOE and on the next line says I hate the GOE. but for you to label nitric as good example of GOE supporter is I think still intellectual dishonest. for the rest of your misguided stuff, I will leave for history to judge who is real misguided.
other than that you do the same Have a nice day (week, month, year, decade)

Mr. Mussie,Iam hoping you are not the one Mussie I know.I am sorry you know well the border issue is nothing to do with the opposition doesn’t came after the Bademe. IT was there before this mess demanding for democracy and juistce to perveil in Eritrea.
what name could you give the opposition then if not one many. I am 100% sure as opposition parts conceren it will be good idea to settle the border issue to day than tomorrow. Otherwise, what power do they hav the oppositon to deal about this issue? Even the gov. wioth its power and other means they aren’t doing any think except crying like a baby to get help from Mom. And as WE know DIA left with no mam or dad or friend. Then why blame the opposition. This is upto DiA if they have the wisdom or the gut to solve this isse. But I am sure they got non of the above.And they are to stay and drag it for the sake to stay in power until they die. Do you think the cause of the called Bademe is the opposition. It was you the blind supportes of DIA just driven from emotion with no clear vision and with out good purpose drowned into this trap border issue.

semere andom

Sal:

when you fight on behalf of the voiceless disappeared you can be exposed with moyawi hadega

Semere

Nitricc

Selamat Gezae,
What up?
Gezae, let me share a few thing that might help you to understand my position. I pride my self to be the defender of the truth. If there is a truth anywhere, then, Nitricc not only find it, but will defend it. My greatest problem with you people in the opposition side is the failure of you to acknowledge any positive deeds by the government of Eritrea.
There is no way in hell that everything the government does is wrong. Are there good things? Then tell us. You see, like any other government, the Eritrean government too have a dark spot.
As much as I love and defend the government of Eritrea, there no way I can defend the case of the prisoners. I understand there is a different justice system when dealing with treason. In a court of law, you are innocent till proven guilty but if you are charged with treason, you are guilty till proven innocent. So, I get that, it takes time to process but12 years? it is a very, very long time and flat out unacceptable. What is even more stunning is that there is no any good reason or political damage or any negative ramification to the government of Eritrea by setting the prisoners free. If anything, it is good for the government and it is good for the people and it is good for the country. So, not only I disagree in a strongest term possible with government of Eritrea on this issue but simply it is stupid and preposterous. The End!
Regarding the youth fleeing the country, well, I don’t know what to tell you. It seems to me it is a race to a get an X-Box or die trying. I know you are going to think I am like heartless of devoid to compassion but I ask you, What is life? Like they say, everyone dies but not every one lives. So what is the point of death if you can’t live? If the government is the reason for me not to live my life, the first fighting front for me is the government. Not fleeing the country and marching right to the ugliest death of all, in the hands of the Arabs in Sinai desert. If the reason is the government, the system, then, I am fighting to death bring down that system. The government is training and arming me, why is it I am not fighting the same government who is responsible to my death? Instead I am running away in to endless miseries and to my ultimate death in hands of the Sinai Arabs and right to the teeth’s of sharks of the see. Now, Gezae, you are not asking me for sympathy for a bunch cowards, are you? The youth is the engine of any society; the youth is the catalyst for any change. The youth is the defender of the nation, if the youth chose to flee by abandoning their rightful place in history and their generational responsibility to just die, the ugliest death at that, in a desert, well; I have no sympathy and let them drown in a high sea and burn in hell. You have one life to live and it is very imperative what you do with it. So, the cause is not the how the government mistreats the youth, rather it is the glitters of the west lifestyle and its gadgets that they are after. They wanted it. Even worst, the so called activists are encouraging the youth to flee.

Wdiere, what is up? I see you never forgive me for calling you a slave, huh? Oh well, let it go, we all are slaves, we just don’t know it. 
Sal
What is up with you? So you are calling me out, right?  Please don’t make me “show-off” my street “cred”
I have never seen you defending anyone, wow, I must be doing good job.
Last time I check, you told Haile that will Asmara-me in five minutes with no problem.
Then I wrote a couple of lines on the go to Haile and you were all over it defending Haile. The more you defend Haile, the more I am motivated to destroy him. Don’t make me do that, I am trying to knock some sense in to Haile. If that is not enough, now you are batting for Gezae. Okay, Sal let me give you a little time for you to prepare your favorite Haile’s eulogy because he is a goner. And Haile, let me give you a chance none of us will have, you may start editing Sal for your eulogy. Haile,You are in a chopping block. official 

Sal regarding the interview I will write about it but to give you the main snap shot of it.
If the country to become a viable nation, a nation that we dreamt of then two things must happen; the elite mentality of the Asmarino must be broken and the other ethic groups must be empowered. Like I have said, I will write about that topic and explain.

Out!

wediere

Nitricc,

You called me slave, don’t remember and feel free to remind me (am dreading it though).

Actually the worst I heard from you is your insensitivity about those who drowned crossing the sea, well it took not long you are barking the same note here about the Sinai victims. Just consider when a person takes a step in life from A to B, it is because B is better what happens en-route is the risk you take and many times it is not in your control, the victims of Sinai did not anticipate what was waiting for them and some were kidnapped (even from Asmara).

I give you credit for single handledly making many forumers TROTEGNA, tired of debating, thus I warned Haile. Another thing you really believe/d the GoE (self reliance) and sincerely stood up for DIA, unlike many hypocrites that come and go.

About anything good from the government, yea you want us to say people are still left to breath oxygen in Eritrea, you are so blinded.

Is it the last interview by DIA has left you disoriented or that Saleh teased you with the where is your “independence” and you want to show that you are disagreeing with the government? It is a Ulrika moment! even Mussie below is thinking you are an opposition…wow it is a sign of tectonic shift in alliance from a diehard. Still don’t be discouraged, “stand for the truth as usual”, at least with that principle all Haile has to o is straighten the distorted perception of GoE you carry in your head.

Selamat
AOsman

Nitricc

Wediere, since you don’t remember what I have said to you then it is good to let it go. At that time you were very upset and thought you were hanging on the slave thing. My bad.
Anyway, you have known me from the start till this moment my time in awate.com. And my stand is the same. I am a die hard supporter of the government of Eritrea. However, I am not indifference. When the government I love and protect does something wrong I have a moral obligation to voice my objection. I have no problem the government detaining the G-15 and the journalists, no problem at all, it is done in every nation but to deprive them the chance to defend them selves; to deny them to face their accusers is wrong. We are not talking about any John Doe; we are talking about the people who gave up their entire life to create a nation which the same nation they have created detained and denied them the very basic due process. I had all hopes that PIA will set them free on 20th Independence Day. On that occasion it would have been a great opportunity for the nation to heal. Once that did not happen I come to understand PIA has closed the file and I am not going for that. NO! I can not be that indifference.
Wediere have you wonder why your opposition never moved an inch, in fact going backward, the reason is your opposition have become INDIFFERENCE.
Once you become indifference, it is impossible to move forward to grow and change. So, not that I am shifting my stand rather I am avoiding the oppositions disease called indifference.
Wediere what do you think the reason is that it is always the government supporters appear to shoulder defending the nation while oppositions are considered sell outs and never to be trusted? What ever your answer might be the truth is if the oppositions to make any headway, then they must change that perception.
The following might help
Stop being indifference.
Acknowledge and give credit when the government does right.
Stop pointing at everything that it is the government fault.
Support and demand for the border demarcation.
Stop Sleeping with Ethiopia.
Stop recycling the same old, corrupted and outdated leaders.
Have a new idea and explain how your idea is better.
Support and engage YPFDJ.:)
Stop appealing to outsiders; appeal your cause to your own people.
Stop predicting the collapsing of PIA, he is going nowhere.
The list goes on……..
I know I am wasting my time but you get my drift…….

You are right on the money with predicting the impending face off with nitricc. The only notice I wish to register with awaistas is that it would be a pure case of self-defense on my part. Despite calling on nitricc to disarm, he ignored my plea and jostled me to the chopping block PFDJ style. There is no other option for me other than ensure that we have switched places when the ax falls 🙂 Belu meruquna, nbges alona 🙂

Yebel! Yebel Gitmi! Wesede! Wesede! Nitric (acid) will be dissociated into “ions” ( – & + ) – harmless ions that loses its itching and burning characteristics by Haile’s robostic engagement. He has proved it tactically in a stylish way to Asmara.

Nitricc

Semere good work. Very funny 🙂
No amount of support will save Haile. He is done
Even Aman is abandoneding Haile. Here is what Aman has to say

Weygud! “tidelyo mo Ezenga’eka”…borother, it is time to detour from the road that leads to the hell….we are looking for you as the lost sheep from its herds to shepherd you, look upon you, and groom you as a good citizen who cares his people. We wanted you to defend our people before you defend the land. We wanted you to see clearly the difference of people and land. The land is for the people not the people for the land. Hisebelu de’a Nitric hisebelu.

haile

Nitricc

That is it, I’m gonna have you soon! Whichever way I looked at you, I find you sooo appetizing:) I am just wondering qulwa’do, zihla’do, tsebhi’do, wala kitfo kemey geyre kbel’o n’Nitricc is may deliberations now:) N’skha ashunkuay’do msKara ms’gurade entemetsa’ka it is halal to eat you…you’re making me hungry just thinking of you 🙂

Wediere

Haile,

Nitricc is the kind of the supporters who have not lived in Eritrea and believes self reliance has been achieved and he will lecture you about other African countries dependence on aid (Eyob will have his aybelnando fury on this 🙂 ), he also holds the Amiche grudge.

One thing that was suggested to him in the past was to go and visit Eritrea ( not just as a beles to enjoy the summer break ). That would be his healing pill, the alternative is to ” let DIA speak ” as there are enough clips from the monster himself to show him some light or at least let him battle his conscience. He has promised to comment on the latest interview, am expecting the “wela tinfer Tel iya” kind of mindset and analysis.

Apart from that I don’t expect a quick knockout in this boxing match. Enjoy the link below Haile vs Nitric ….prematch encounter

You forgot the most important part in your pre-fight promotional: Nitricc has a tendency to disappear* for months and this fight (despite Semere’s poem) may be cancelled due to Nitriccs other engagements.

Speaking of heavily promoted fights, were you following the Mayweather-Albarez fight? Both had undefeated records. Both were matched in songs they chose as they entered the ring (Lil Wayne vs Tupac.) Alvarez had the technical advantage: age (12 years younger), muscle mass (15 pounds) and loud fans (drowning opponent with boos.) Mayweather had the psychological advantage (experience in defeating heavily promoted opponents and the opinion of professional evaluators.)

After the fight, awate Facebook had a message to Canello-Alvarez fans: Ecclesiastes 9:11. Won’t help Nitricc cause he is an atheist 😉

saay
* We know why Nitricc disappears for months. His “hegemon” employers keeps him traveling to places with no Internet.

Ghezae Hagos

Nitricc,

First of all, get this: I aint mad at cha! really.

“I am a die hard supporter of the government of Eritrea,” you said.

Ok. My question for you: what would be your ‘this-is-it’ line that GoE shouldn’t cross for you to stop supporting it? If you can give us a scenario that would make you stop supporting it, it would help us see how principled is your ‘position.’

You know where I am going this. We are talking about temporal matters; worse third world politics; worse Eritrean government that has no elected body, no constitution, no functioning parliament, no free press, no elections so far and possibly in the next 39 years if our leader is to be believed…And no vice-president too. While a thousands cases of disappearances, torture and abuses. These are facts, but anyways you still say you support such a government. Fine.

The only unconditional support we can ever give to or allege to give to is God or family members. I am sure you agree with me. So our support for governments is by nature conditional. So back to my question: where is the line you draw when it comes to supporting the government in Eritrea?

wediere

SAAY,

When I first saw the Ecclesiastes 9:11 on fb, I did not notice the boxing photo you have now and wondered what it was for…I will have to check it on youtube…

You putting too much psychological traps on Nitricc (Sirhu Gedifu himam baEsi kayhizo) or he may refuse assignment to those dark places. Hagizokha siErka kayiblo ba.

Check the Ameritrean boy interview(Tsatse azekiruni), that boy did a good job on explaining the situation now, I had a good laugh.

Back to the Ecclesiastes 9:11, even an atheist can’t ignore the wisdom. I think Haile has more to heed from it

New Living Translation
I have observed something else under the sun. The fastest runner doesn’t always win the race, and the strongest warrior doesn’t always win the battle. The wise sometimes go hungry, and the skillful are not necessarily wealthy. And those who are educated don’t always lead successful lives. It is all decided by chance, by being in the right place at the right time.

Regards
AOsman

yegermal

“And my stand is the same. I am a die hard supporter of the government of Eritrea. However, I am not indifference. When the government I love and protect does something wrong I have a moral obligation to voice my objection. I have no problem the government detaining the G-15 and the journalists, no problem at all, it is done in every nation but to deprive them the chance to defend them selves; to deny them to face their accusers is wrong. We are not talking about any John Doe; we are talking about the people who gave up their entire life to create a nation which the same nation they have created detained and denied them the very basic due process.”

Abayey kemzi kiguanefa kelo, “tsebelka aylikeyena” tibil neberet. Only some sort of disorder can cause such glaring dichotomy in a human mind.

Nitricc

I am wondering what you grandma will say when she found out you name your self under the single word you know in Amharic, Ygermal?
Idiot.
At least change your nick name to something you know. There is my feb word in Tigrigna ” nebse-Mithat himam aleka. Tsemam.

[from mod: you were doing so well, Nitricc. Now the name-calling: “idiot”, “Tsemam”. Come on Nitricc.]

Yebel! Yebel! Wisedo! Wisedo! When the Nitric (acid) disociated by Haile into “ions” it becomes harmless and useless. The walta Hizbi “Haile” has many “degens” to dislodge his enemies as he already proved in style and tactics.

asmara 2

That narration, real or imagined indicates a few things:

1.The suicidal nature of the individual [Haile]
2.Stupidity

The fact that he wrote it in a public forum, as a counter reply to an imaginary threat, is an indication that, that individual [Haile] is:

1.So obsessed and takes everything serious
{True. Why else would this dude feel the need to reply to any comment, and try to look like an expert on anything and everything?}

2.Most probably he has some personal issues that forced him to seek attention or look for love in the wrong place; hence he would definitely want to be on top all the time, even when there is no need for competition or being right or wrong.
{This definitely is right. This dude never used the “reply” button on any comment he is replying to*

3.The individual most probably have lost the game of social interaction and cannot differentiate between real and imaginary.
{Again this is true. Why else would he be so sensitive to Nitricc’s virtual chopping and felt the need to tell us that he used to be stupid and would meet a knife head on?}

4.All the above would make that individual [Haile] so vulnerable and easily manipulated
{Spot on again, look how everybody is leading him, and how the forum owners, are using his as a tool – with an easy Atta-boy}

*The fact that this dude never uses the reply button indicates:
1. He thinks what he says here is so important and wants everyone to be drawn to that
2. He has this deep fear that people will fail to read his reply
3. He has this deep fear that if he failed to reply to a comment, or if people failed to see his reply, then they will think less of him.
4. He has this belief that he has to always win appear to have won, no matter he is right or wrong. This is a chronic subordination
5.His social life must be so miserable. May be he is usually over powered by his wife/gf etc or a minor – that he felt he has to win here in virtual world…..

haile

ahhh…you should thank the Moderator for covering your back today…Focus nxt time (wink wink) 🙂

Skipping Reply button??? Is that a way to greatness now?

your logic is deformed here on two counts:

1- It is virtually impossible to maintain a post at the Top of the comments panel! It would always go down when someone else starts a thread…so you are talking meaningless.

2- Someone who wants to engage with personal privacy can’t possibly be said to seek an attention…oxymoron!

Anyway, you had the same issue [albeit fallacious] wit Tsgereda too! Does it bother you to perceive an Eritrean to be appearing to gain status (albeit a figment of your imagination)?

I know where you take it from:

-One that can’t bare to see Eritreans fill up at gas stations
-One that can’t bare to see Eritreans study at recognized Universty
-one that can’t bare to see Eritreans handle hard currency
-one that can’t bare to see Eritreans run private health care
-one that can’t bare to see Eritreans own a business
-One that can’t bare to see Eritreans send money to their relatives but cereals
-One that can’t bare to see Eritreans have old peoples pension even Mengistu paid
-One that can’t bare to see Eritreans sell their produce in the market
-One that can’t bare to see Eritreans visit an embassy to apply for visa to travel
-One that can’t bare to see Eritreans have a constitutional government
-One that can’t bare to see Eritreans have recourse to justice
-One that can’t bare to see Eritreans a government with a budget
-One that can’t bare to see Eritreans in prison family visitations
-One that can’t bare to see Eritreans to know the whereabouts of their loved one

I can see how you feel so disturbed by the slightest thought of an Eritrean being appreciated for anything by anybody. You see, you never ever have a single issue to debate, you just come to complain that some Eritreans are coming here and getting far too much attention to your liking! It is the perceived gain that gets you ranting and punching the air. Heck..can’t you find it in yourself to say GOOD FOR YOU! Why go by ‘asmara’ when you could have chosen ‘Arios’ for a pen-name?

Your blame of saay is not worth delving into, just look at the long tail you’re wiggling:

Haile is sent by the opposition
The opposition is sent by woyane
Woyane is sent by the UN
The UN is sent by the CIA
The CIA is sent by the US government
The US government is sent by the special interest group
The special interest group is sent by multinational corporations
Multinational corporations are sent by their shareholders like ENAMCO
ENAMCO is sent by the Eritrean government
Eritrean government is sent by Isaias Afwerki!!

See how logic suffers critical faults?

Remember when I told you months ago that the reason for the power outages were lack of energy imports? What did you say at the time? Woyane this woyane that, cascading this cascading that…well what did he tell you last time? See, need to notice that Eritreans do in fact have respectable analytical mind that can take care of their own country…if only.

haile

moderator: of course I mean Can’t bear rather than can’t bare (a case of ‘change all’ trick on my word:) hey we’re still left bare of any dignity by this monster of a regime! 🙂

Asgedet

Dear Ghezae,

The title of your article should read: “Five Million Prisoners Of Conscience.” Your otherwise heart-wrenching narrative walks on the eerie road where the likes of Elie Wiesel strode on before. It sure is a philosophical enquiry but the rather pestering question: “Why is this happening to us” throws us into a curve where we find an eternal solace in the arms of the Almighty God lest we lose our sense of humanity and straddle between insanity and the unknown. One thing is for sure Ghezae hawey: the triumph of evil is ephemeral and transient. In the end, light breaks out of darkness. And it shines till kingdom comes. The end of the tyrant is near. Closer than we could ever imagine. That is a fact. Do not despair.

yegermal

AMEN! Afki ysear Asghet haftey. In a world where Eritreans are constantly bickering in desperation and where objectivity is in short supply, it’s very comforting to hear words of wisdom that calm our anxieties and help us recalibrate our moral compass.

I used to read Gezae’s articles when he used to be KIND and write under “The Kind citizen” that was before he become Unkind citizen by declaring all out war against old and sick Eritreans. Back then he used to be a decent writer, although his writing styles are tend to be panicky, emotional and at times, personal, nevertheless, a decent writer. Once Gezae observed writing wasn’t the way out, he joined the booming “human right” business. Smart move, not to be outdone by Elsa Churum, Selam Kidane and Meron, you know the Meron they keep calling here a journalist, she never set a foot in collage, Gezae observed this ludicrous Business venture and he dived in head first to this life time business opportunity. In other words he ACTIVILY INVESTED to become ACTIVIST!
How is business going Gezae? How many old and sick people were you successfully chased out of Canada?
It is shameless act to declare as activist and yet, Gezae turns around snitch on old people who tried to get in to Canada for asylum. Mind you those old people are running away from the brutal dictator known to this planet. So why it is the self declared activist and human right business owner chasing people away?
You see; I told you so!
I don’t know about you but the way I grow up, snitching is not only the greatest shame but it will get you killed. You can witness some one blowing some once brain in front of you but when the police shows up, you hear nothing, you say nothing and you seen nothing. If you open your mouth you are dead within three days. But in here, the bright and far sighted oppositions are giving Gezae a trophy for snitching on poor, old and sick
Eritreans! Reading Gezae’s post, I am wondering why is he shading crocodile tears about Eritrea and Eritreans?
My man, enjoy the business of snitching. Trust me; it will catch up to you. It always does.
Haile I did not forget you. I am debating if I need to throw or keep my knife.

Ghezae Hagos

Dear Nitric,

Welcome back! I would have responded to your utter, shocking lies. But something tells me it is useless. All, I can say to you is you are young. You know what your generation is going through. You Know hundreds of thousands has left Eritrea because they know they can’t live there. You know thousands have died. You know you could have been one of them. zey’tdingxelom! To mock the suffering and their families and on the day, of all days, that remind us the unjust incarceration of journalists, elders and members of national assembly…entay dyu weriduka, kbur haw!

At least, call for their trial according to transitional criminal code and press law. At least, call for the opportunity to see their family members. They are your citizens, meaning brothers and sisters by citizenship. At least, show a glimpse of humanity.

It will pass, they say. It will pass. This too shall pass.

Wediere

Gezae,
It is good you did not give him the smack that he must have waited from you, Nitricc nab amelu temelisu…neza forum kedakhima teAtiqu metziU. He made worst remaks in the past, so such comments are expected.

Nitricc,
I think you did not learn the art of peeling from Fareed :), from what old forumers remember of you Haile will peel you before you know it. A clue, look at the mirror, think about your character and your loyalty to your employer as you present yourself here….but I was not that surprised.

Regards
AOsman

haile

Selamat Ghezae and Nitricc

Ghezae: that is a good restrained reaction to Nitricc. And Nitricc needs to furnish evidence for his claims, 03 has bee long since going busted, it is no longer in business:)

Nitricc, as you debate whether to throw the knife or not, let me tell you about an eventful day that I had long long long time ago. On my way back from somewhere I was visiting, I stopped by a tea house around edaga hamus in Asmara (enda shahi). I was at the place for little less than 15min and something leads to something else and a guy was brawling to fight me (hazuni gdefuni). Well, I wasn’t too worried with his hazo hazo except he kept jumping from place to place with akaki zeraf…all I wanted to do was grap hold of him and break his neck..cos I was in a hurry at that time. But the guy jumps over the counter and gets hold of a big stainless Sheffield knife that the owner was using to chop his salads and tomatoes and what have you.

Well the crowd well a little unnerved and some started running out to the street. Any how, to the guy’s surprise I was walking up to him, but the old man who owned the place got between us before I gotten to him. Then the old man turns to the guy and said something to him that still makes me laugh when ever I remembered. He said to him “ezi wedey, you don’t really know Haile. He will snatch the knife off of your hand and place it inside you belly, Kfu’E keyterEyena”. The guy and the knife flew in the opposite direction there and then 🙂

Don’t let my recollection discourage your deliberations…Just keep the moral in the back of you head when deciding 🙂

Sorry I meant Edaga-Hamus not as noticed there”Adgi-Hamus”today is Tur…but Haile who is the guy?I think he is Isaias Afewrqi who suffered panic aatacks while plyaing “Badme” in “sunsite” with Meles Zenawi.
But your character in that time had to scream us and I tell you not to do that again.And that poor man who also ordered you not to kill him I think you playing actor”Othello”

haile

L.T. nebsi you know I like you but you guessed it wrong, it wasn’t IA (who should have been deported too if you asked me). This guy was, I am not sure, but must have gotten up on the left side of his bed on that day. As I said, I was in a hurry, and the guy had just received araEte bani for his fata that were the last one. The owner said he had sent someone to get bread and told us to hang around for a bit. So, me young and uncultured, re-assigned the guy’s four bread to my table and politely asked him Tehawikhe koyne eye nebsi… well, it was crazy thing that the guy wanted to kill me to rescue these bread. Mind you bani was about 10cent apiece at the time! can you believe that? Where is his manners? Reminds me of the Badme war :-)Any way, I could have given him his damn bani if it wasn’t that I had already bit a chunk out on my way to my table 🙂 Nhsab aytEmn eyu!

Any way L.T. I like your writing style, but it confuses me sometimes. It reminds me what Tegadalay Said Salih wedi keren who worked in Halewa sewra once said. If the intellectuals who were being beaten til blue wouldn’t die at the dungeons, his training also included a way of regressing them back to ignorance. Basically, he was told to incarcerate one intellectual with four other mehayman. So when ever he gives an idea on anything, the four mehayman would contradict him in four different directions. He would then give up and say … yeah ya all right 🙂 Bingo, he is now ignorant too. Where/why did you learn to write in the style you do? BTW there is another guy Lamek Tewelde (LT) at dahai that I like too 🙂 is he your brother or youngest son by any chance?

BTW Edaga Hamus is a great area located in Asmara, not the one you’re thinking about 🙂

Wedi Hager

That is very funny!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

saay

Nitrric:

You actually wrote (in a way that’s supposed to show off your “street cred”)

“I don’t know about you but the way I grow up, snitching is not only the greatest shame but it will get you killed. You can witness some one blowing some once brain in front of you but when the police shows up, you hear nothing, you say nothing and you seen nothing. If you open your mouth you are dead within three days.”

There was a time when Eritrea meant rebellion and rebellion meant disobeying unjust laws and this code you are talking about made sense because we were in a survival mode. The problem is when this code, this omertà code, this taboo about stool pigeons, informants, snitches holds, you are essentially conceding that your government is an organized criminal entity. I am not even sure that you know you have made that concession with your metaphor: that the Isaias regime is a criminal entity and since this is our “family” or “this thing of ours” (la cosa Nostra, as the Scilians called it), to tell outsiders about its criminal entity is to “snitch.” Isaias encourages this ghetto culture by talking about hegemons and big bad enemies (who don’t even know he exists.). We are trying to get Eritrea out of the ghetto and the ghetto values and you guys who are enamored with outlaw behavior as a permanent character want to keep it there indefinitely.

This passive aggressive threat against Ghezae supposed to scare him about the long arms of Shaebia? Oh, your delusion! We are too busy laughing at enda hgdef to fear them. Hgdef is Shaebia minus heroism, courage, and faith and confidence. Aka, it’s hooliganism, bullyism, and everybody hates bullies–especially the snotty nosed cowardly ones. That dog won’t hunt. You can mock human rights all you want (it’s a defensive mechanism to cope with the fact that to support Isaias is to support tyranny), but it doesn’t change the fact that you would not want to be treated the way Isaias enemies are treated. This is why Ghezae (who writes using his real name) can afford to feel superior to you ( if he chooses to): because he knows that if u are bullied and accused and threatened by people more powerful than you, you, yes you Mr Tough Ghetto Culture I Ain’t No Snitch, will reach for the human rights card. Yeah, you know it, ( and it goes double for all the pen name tough guys) and all that tough talk fools no one.

By the way, are u still waiting for the “memrHi” like every higdefite before you can comment on Hsur presidents interview. I expected better: u used to be fearless individual. Have u completely drank the hgdef Kool Aid and lost your individuality, whatever little u had of it? 🙂

saay

PS: u know I like u Nitricc. But God is mysterious and he has made Haile much smarter than you. You have a choice: to try your luck and be his punching bag (like the late “Asmara”) or to say “oh I am so busy” and joust with him. My awatistas side wants u engaged; my humanitarian side wants u to joust with your intellectual peers at other sites 🙂

Mussie

Saleh,

when are you going to stop these constant intellectual dishonest, saleh you know that Nitricc hate the government of Eritrea in the same pieces he/she wrote where you are responding to him/her(Nitricc). I quote him/her ” Mind you those old people are running away from the brutal dictator known to this planet” and still you level him/her as government/PFDJ supporter, I don’t know what is going on with you lately specially since your brother Ali Abdu took medical leave from his Job I think you became very un irrational and unstable. take it easy bro he will be back after he got better from his illness. Normally I think you are a bright and reasonable person even do me and you most of the time differ when it comes specifically Eritrean politics. But over all I agree with you about the world political perceptions. it is not by any means an insult but a personal observations.

Semere Andom

Mussie:

What a condescending and cheap attack on our host and friend Saleh AA Younis. The hall mark of PFDJ is to attack, demonize and if one is squeaky clean like our hosts of this site, where you are allowed ditch the filth that you are so accustomed to, un bullied and undeterred, you chose to bring Ali Abdu to the equation, just because you can. It is cheap, becoming of a PFDJ. Instead of criticizing Nitric you tried to embolden him by getting hard on by his “begamido” threats to Ghezae

Mussie

Semere,

Saleh is more than capable to defend himself if I have been unfair toward him. your gang you up(Tifozo) kind of response/defense save for some one who is unable to defend him/her self.

I am really buffled by “awate team” to allow such abusive individuals (nitric and Asmara). I don’t think what they are doing is a debate. It is apolitical street vulgar languages straight from the brain washing manual of EPFDJ. I wish these individuals arguments would have been marinated with ideological and philosophical values. But they aren’t. If their languages get a pass to the readers, I don’t know what are forbidden.

saay

Kbur zeytagadalai Semere:

I will do something Mussie rarely does: give people the benefit of doubt. He doesn’t know the legend of Nitricc (formerly Nitric) at awate forum 1.0. But if Nitricc sticks around, he will know. The other “Eyobism” he did, where he put me on the psych chair and diagnosed me with something, oh well, that’s the occupational hazard of some commenters. Quick Semere I need a Tinglish phrase for “occupational hazard.”

I was trying to think why Nitricc is my favorite Hgdefite of all time and I think I got it. Those of us in the opposition want the higdefites to say it and say it out loud: it is wrong to imprison, disappear citizens period and no “national security” excuse can justify it. Nitric meets that low standard. He doesn’t meet the next test: and therefore what will YOU do about it? Then you can hear the crickets: chirp, chirp, chirp. Because, in their mind, to do something about it, is to agree with “Eritreas enemies.” Conversely, higdefites want to hear something from the opposition: it is wrong for Ethiopia to reneg on the EEBC ruling. When we say it they get genuinely happy. Then they get all disappointed when they know we believe it but we are not going to do anything about it because that only empowers the dictator, it is of lower priority given the predatory nature of a tyrant who has declared an all-out war of annihilation against defenseless people just to protect his ill-fitting throne, and because we have the law on our side: a virtually demarcated land by a duly appointed legal body. The land is going nowhere. And the displaced are less than those that the dictator has displaced.

Now that I have created an equivalence, let me tear it down. First, of course, is that there are thousands of victims (if u don’t like Ghezaes 10,000, please suggest a number. Then multiply it by 10: the average immediate family size in Eritrea.) Second, There are organized opposition groups or individuals who regularly call on Ethiopia to unconditionally abide by the EEBC. But there are no pro-government individuals, organizations (websites, community groups, civil society, YPFDJ, filho.com, yelekhulan.com etc) that will publicly openly call for bringing the imprisoned to a court of law. “None. Niente. Nada. Sfr. Zero. Abeden.”* And that’s why Nitricc is that rare parrot that can actually fly and we put up with his abuse 🙂

Saay

* An inside joke for Comboni students of mid 1970s

yegermal

“………..since your brother Ali Abdu took medical leave from his Job I think you became very un irrational and unstable. take it easy bro he will be back after he got better from his illness. ”

Whether this a new memrhi or your wishful thinking getting the best of you, I can’t help but burst into a loud kirkirrrr…..tehznu!

Mezgebu

nitricc

Blabber! A typical character of Shabia, discrediting,diminishing and demonizing women. they are helping in action for the suffering people by exposing your cult organization. thank you sisters and God bless.

yegermal

“Back then he used to be a decent writer, although his writing styles are tend to be panicky, emotional and at times, personal, nevertheless, a decent writer.”

Bog Aybilka! I read Ghezae’s articles regularly with much gusto precisely because he rarely exhibits emotions and engages his readers with facts that can be easily checked. I can’t help but wonder if we’re reading the same Ghezae:).

Ghezae, you made us reminded of the bad times we are in. What a horrible but nicely told story! You see, you were meant to be a journalist but forced by circumstances to be turned an activist.
If we were the lucky ones, we should not have found ourselves in a condition of forcing unique writers and reflectors like Ghezae shoulder the burden of fighting for humanity. He should have been left free and at ease to write about us. If we were the lucky, we should have enabled edge-sharp writers like Sal to freely float among our society and retell them with the help of their mighty pens. If we were the lucky, we should have seen people like YG thinking about past-deep and future-far, and not talking arguing about a bad apple spoiling anything/everything of Eritrea. And yet, it is one thing for us to be talking and worried about underutilized and side-spent Eritrean talents and minds for what they were not meant. Worse, think of others of similar quality folks languishing and perishing in so many unknown horrible places. What do you feel, fellow Eritreans…what do you feel about those…you have not seen them, you have not heard anything from them for the last 12 years.
Iran and Iraq were fighting for 8 years. Both had POVs from the other-side. When the fighting stopped either because of fatigue or mediation, they exchanged their POWs and allowed those captured in the fighting to rejoin their families. That means it took less than 8 years for an Iranian soldier caught in a live fighting to be set free from Iraqi prison. How is it an Eritrean journalist who never fired a bullet and was only writing cannot get his freedom in his own land in 12 years? Can you possibly make me any sadder?

Ghezae Hagos

Dear Hayat Adem,

Thanks, for your message.

Yes, I loved to be a journalist. I love to write, to comment, to share. My days in Zemen were so memorable, chiefly because none of us thought it would end like this. At Zemen, we had some plans to form a media and arts association that branched to promotion and production of plays, movies, short stories. Many budding talented artists were joining the roaster. I am sure many others had similar dreams.

It was not meant to be. Eritrea is home to emaciated, abused and neglected potential. There were and are a lot of talented citizens who could have done amazing things, things that would be hailed as pride of the nation. Alas! the waste is astounding. Worse, our nation is undergoing silent extinction.

We know who Isayas is; cruel tyrant. The question is what we are going to do about it. That has been the question thrown at us every given day.

As we are deprived of ready made cultural blame, the story of our prisoners seemingly fall now into a well worn grooves. For all our historical courages, we are in many ways a terrified people. We are terrified by the daily act of Issayas’s regime to the extent we can’t even defend to our siblings and relatives dying in the PFDJ dungeon. The Eritrean people are scared of everything in our nation. They rather opted to endure the continuing trajedies that repeat itself again and again in a diabolic loop than exploring reasonable solutions.

When Robert Kennedy became the victim of assassination,The historian Arthur Schlesinger famously asked question question regarding to the circumstance of that time. What sort of people are we, we Americans? His answer was: today, we are the most frightening people on the planet. So yes, may be it is time to acknowledge that the Evil gorilla in the seat of a statesman has changed the character of Eritreans and that is from the most courageous to most frightened people. It is big time to reverse the fear factor that dominate the spirit of our citizens.

L.T

Am I gone.Where is mine?

L.T

Ayate Gezaie is the new age visionary Journalist poet in the heart his generation with original Weyane’s ideals of M.L.L.T revolution.
Weyane constitutional practic did’t work for Eritrean revolutionary experience(Gedli)Weyane’s declaration of war put an end to these hopes.and this does not mean that we should forget about their nast exist radical politic cultures.

hamid

I use to cry for my teachers who died in the hands of derg when i was in elementary school in asmara but today i let them sleep in pease after what i saw happened to to eritreans in higdef prisons. my teachers i mentioned above are ” memhir mebrat who was of shabia’s EPLF’s gurilla fighter inside asmara”.And ” memhir meaza who wher a member of jebha’s ELF’s hafash wudebat in asmara ” . they both eritrean heros with other of their comrads eritrean hearos of teachers,asmara hazhaz police officers students and other civilians excuted by the derg and annonced their excution in ethiopian radio.At the same time eritrean war prisoners of ELF & EPLF both eritrean freedom fighters who wher captured by the derg where brought to hazhaz prizon from ther transfered to alem beqagn prison in addiss abab.those war prisoners wer released before independense by the derg some returned to meda to fight some where died ethiopian prison because they wher very injured and some like cadre shabia akhberet died after independence from sickness in asmaraand some of this murukhat tegadelti shabia they are stil serving in eritrean government in some are jailed in 1993 fighters revolt not known where they are today this was the end and history of eritrean prisoners under the derg justice where they are about today.but we donot know wher are the eritrean prisoners under higdef wher they are about today.I wonder why today eritreans we became silent “injustice in one placeit’s injustice every where.”some times i question is that true we eritreans we defeated the strongest powers with out any help for our freedom…? how come today unable to defeat higdef & weyane to wipe them to gether…?eritrean opposition parties talk is not to bring any solution we need to march to the whit house,to the europian union,to the african union to arb leag to the united nation to all corners of the globe our voices to be heared.and a peacefull solution to be found for our national cryout and suffering of our people in eritrea.

eritreano4

Here time come. To wish the dergs prisons than shabia’s prisons where there no show every thing dead and silent for ever.My advise for eritrean prison adminstraters.gov.police etc..I tell them to learn from derg prison justice which it is .if any eritrean civilians was jailed or any tegadelti eritrea was captured in war by ethiopian derg had right to appear in court to be sentensed or to be excuted for supporting eritrean revolution ELF & EPLF and their names announced by ethiopian radio stations this way and at the end their families they use to know if they are dead or alive this is the ethiopian derg justice we use to hate today comparing with shabia we know it’s derg’s prison was a great blessing.I will say today to all eritreans who are suffering and lost their life while under dictatorship custody under shabia’s cruel ,unhumain prisons captive by unkind heartless kiflimermera guards, may GOD grant you freedom until then strength to be able to resist till freedom,and whom fall victims of you may GOD gant you heaven and peace amen.

the country wide oppress and jailing of eritreans youngs would be continue until PFDJ
is in power.And eritreans , we are going to more strong suffer and die out if we don’t wake to throw down the insignificant and opressive regium of Isayas Afewerki. At this time Eritrea a single man leading country of the land .is not the segment of the society feels the immoral suffering, all eritreans whereever we are ,we experienced and knew it if we were in the country after 2000.Isayas Afewerki he came with that idea from the field . it is not new sitaution cause dictatorness ,he grew up with that dream if you try to go into his terrified profile and he had a fingure in every pie. so eritreans what are we waiting for , the solution is from us to us is not from the current small group of Pfdj , i will never expect unless i have to forget the country of my Mother .

Eritreaninexile

DIA and Mengie are the same one worse than the other.

Eritreaninexile

Very nice article Gezae. Thetruth change your nick to the false. All Eritreans are sic and tired of the dictator. He is in power like any dictator by force of security and military and corruption. Unless you are. Beneficiary of the crimes the farms in the villages dried all the work force is in military for free doing inefficient for the nation and families just DIA to secure his power. Wake up bro. You guys betrayed the martyrs, us the people and the whole generation. Worse than degre.

TheTruth

I betrayed the martyrs. Please. The likes of you and Ghezae have. Working and plotting with hegemonic powers to destabilize your nation would make the martyrs cringe. And please stop with the assumptions and generalizations.

Fev

I have been waiting to see who would be the first PFDJite to use the term hegemonic powers after DIA abused it on his last interview. Congrats for being the first to use it to intimidate an activist, in vain. You can cllect you prize at Dehai.

TheTruth

I guess bright minds think alike. You might want to use yours once in a while you daft monkey.

Kokhob Selam

Dear Ghezae Hagos,
Simply you are the king of happiness. You just expose the Sadness within you that shows the care and kindness you have and you blow a chemical that calls for happiness- your wishes. How can I mange to show my appreciation and love on your fine art?
I got it!!!!!!Open my lovely Jebena page within today and read my poem “Hager ab ma’eserti” within today.

TheTruth

Even Amnesty International stated they don’t know how many people are arrested so the 10,000 is blatantly false. They’ve stated from 2,000 to 10,000. Talk about a large range. Sadly the puppets will parrot those numbers without having any evidence to substantiate those claims.

TheTruth

The only people who have problems with the Eritrean government are those in Asmara and other big cities, who simply are trying to put the cart before the horse. They want material things while those in the rural areas are obtaining the things they’ve always taken for granted. The rural areas of Eritrea, which consist of 80% of the population supports PIA. They are obtaining access to water, food and electricity, albeit slowly, for the first time in their lives. This is what the opposition fails to understand and why they will never get their message across. The Crisis Group hit it on the head when they stated the opposition does not know its own people. They are severely disconneted from the reality on the ground.

sidiabdu14@gmail.com

The truth your math is wrong.
out of ?six millions 1.5 million live in Asmara that would make it 25%. Therefore I call your comments as Un-trutth

ShewiT

How long the Eritrean tyrant will stay in power? Until the people of Eritrea allows him. If there was a shared grievance and a genuine desire for change among the vast majority of the people of Eritrea, the tyrant would have gone long ago. I suspect the change inducing elements are not ripe. In that case, the tyrant has to wait for more time and let the people suffer more, until the misery is felt by the vast majority. Only then will the people rise.
If only a segment of the society feels the suffering, then this social segment should organize and start armed struggle.

sidiabdu14@gmail.com

Dictators will remain dictators as long the people allow them. When the day comes and the people started to stand-up for their right and refused to be governed,a dictator heart will start to melt and it is probably the day he starts plotting his future pay back jail time,exile etc.